Jaspee l



(No Model.)

J L. PURPLE.

GASTER.

No. 331,732. Patented Dec. 1, 1885.

J14" @WM W? @Jitornegu lhvirnn STATES PATENT @rrica.

JASPER L. PURPLE, OF OXVEGO, NEYV YORK.

CASTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 331,732, dated December 1, 1885.

Application filed August 31, 1885. Serial No. 175.7 6. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JASPER L. PURPLE, of Owego, in the county of Tioga and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Casters; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and in which- Figure l is a perspective view of my improved caster for safes and heavy furniture detached. Fig. 2 is a side view showing the same in position for operation. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken on the line 00 a: in Fig. 2, and Fig. 4. is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken on the line yy in Fig. 3.

The same letters refer to the same parts in all the figures.

This invention relates to furniture-casters; and it has forits object to provide a caster for safes and other heavy bodies and articles the nature and excessive weight of which precludes the employment of the ordinary swiveling cas ters, and which for this reason are ordinarily provided with simple wheels or rollers,which make it necessary to lift or pry them into the direction in which they are to be moved.

The invention consists in the improved construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, which will be hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings hereto annexed, A designates the frame or body of my improved caster, which consists of a suitable elongated block provided with an upwardly-extending pintle or spindle, B, by means of which it is swiveled in the bearing provided for its reception in the under side of the safe or furniture leg 0, to which it is to be applied, and which is designated by letter D in Figs. 2, 3, and 4 of the drawings. The outer end of the block or frame A is provided with an outwardly or forwardly extending stud, E, affording a j ournal or bearing for a wheel or roller,F,arrauged to bear against the under side or bottom of the safe or other piece of furniture to which my improved caster is applied. The under side of the block A is provided with a longitudinal slot or opening. G, in which is journaled the caster-wheel H, the bearings of which are at a point centrally between the pintle B and the bearing of the roller F. The sides of the block or frame A are provided with laterallyextending studs I l, forming journals for a 'pair of caster-wheels, J J, which, in common with the wheel or roller F, are arranged to bear against the under side of the safe or other article of furniture. Theselatter caster-wheels or rollers J J are arranged on diametricallyopposite sides of the pint-1e B. so as to relieve any Weight upon the latter and prevent frictional resistance when the device is manipulated. The inner or rear end of the block or frame A is provided on its under side with a slot or recess, K, the sides of which are provided with boxes or bearings for a longitudinally arranged wheel or roller, L,theperiphery of which is normally some distance above that of the caster-wheel H, or raised from the floor so that the said wheel shall not be in operation, except in case of the tipping or tilting of the safe or article of furniture to which my improved caster is appliedsuch as when, for instance, in the act of moving the safe or other article, an obstruction should be encountered.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings hereto annexed, the operation and advantages of this invention will be readily understood without requiring any extended explanation.

The outer friction-wheel, F, relieves the direct weight upon the caster-wheel H, and enables the latter to sustain a very considerable weightwithout dangerof breaking down. The friction-wheels F and J J, bearing against the under side of the safe or other article, enable the caster-frame to turn readily upon its spindle and to adj ust itself to the direction in which it is desired to move the article mounted there- The general construction is simple and inexpensive, and the device is thoroughly efficient in operation, in that it enables heavy articles or bodies to be easily moved or manipulated.

In the practical manufacture of this invention minor changes in the construction of details may sometimes be found necessary or desirable, and to provide for such cases I would have it understood that I do not limit myself to the precise construction and arrangement of parts herein shown and described, but reserve to myself the right to all such changes and modifications as maybe resorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States 1. In a caster, the combination of a suitable block or frame, a swiveling pintle extending upwardly from the same, afriction-wheeljournaled at the outer end of said frame and adapt-ed to bear against the under side of the article or body to which the said caster is applied, friction wheels or rollers journaled to the sides of the frame on diametrically-opposite sides of the pintle, and the caster-wheeljournaled longitudinally in the frame, and having its bearings centrally between the pintle and the outer friction-wheel, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

2. In a caster, the combination of asuitable block or frame, a pintle extending upwardly from the same, a friction-wheel journaled the frame and having its periphery normally raised from the floor with which it shall come in contact only in the event of the tipping or 5 tilting of the article or body to which the caster is applied, substantially as and for the purpose herein shown and specified.

3. In a caster, the combination of asuitable block or frame, a swiveling pintle extending o upwardly from the same, a friction-wheeljournaled transversely at the outer end of the said frame and adapted to bear against the under side of the article or body to which the caster is applied, a caster-wheel journaled in thesaid 45 frame and having its bearings at a point about centrally between the pintle and the outer friction-wheel, friction wheels or rollers journaled to the sides of the frame on diametrically-opposite sides of the pintle, and a wheel or roller journaled longitudinally at the inner end of the frame and having its periphery normally raised from the floor, with which it shall come in contact only in the event of the tipping or tilting of the article or body to which the 5 5 caster is applied, substantially as and for the purpose herein shown and specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereunto affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JASPER L. PURPLE.

Witnesses:

O. M. BRooKs, 0. W. H. SMITH. 

